dao

See also: Dao and Appendix:Variations of "dao"

English

Etymology 1

1. From the pinyin romanization of Chinese 道 (Dào, literally “the Way”) or (dào, "circuit").
2. From the pinyin romanization of Chinese 刀 (dāo, literally “single-edged blade”)

Proper noun

dao

1. (Chinese philosophy) Alternative form of Tao: the way of nature and/or the ideal way to live one's life.

Noun

dao (usually uncountable, plural daos)

1. (historical) Synonym of circuit: various administrative divisions of imperial and early Republican China.
2. A Chinese sword with a curved, single-edged blade, primarily used for slashing and chopping

Etymology 2

From Tagalog or Cebuano dao.

Noun

dao (plural daos)

1. Dracontomelon dao; a large tree of the family Anacardiaceae; the argus pheasant tree.
2. The hard strong wood of the dao used for veneers and cabinetwork.

Anagrams

• ADO, AoD, DOA, ODA, Oda, ado, do a, oad, oda

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Cebuano

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: da‧o

Noun

dao

1. dao (Dracontomelon dao)
2. the edible fruit of this tree
3. the wood from this tree

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Limburgish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [dɔː˨]

Adverb

dao

1. there

Synonyms

• der

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [dɔː˦]

Adverb

dao

1. for that reason

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Mandarin

Romanization

dao

1. Nonstandard spelling of dāo.
2. Nonstandard spelling of dáo.
3. Nonstandard spelling of dǎo.
4. Nonstandard spelling of dào.

Usage notes

• English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

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Tagalog

Etymology

Compare Cebuano dao, Kapampangan dau and Indonesian dahu.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /daʔˈo/
• Hyphenation: da‧o

Noun

dao

1. dao (Dracontomelon dao)

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Vietnamese

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *-taːw, a non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 刀 (“knife”; SV: đao). Compare North Central Vietnamese đao.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [zaːw˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [jaːw˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [jaːw˧˧]
• Homophone: Dao; giao

Noun

(classifier con) dao (刀, 釖, 鉸)

1. knife

Derived terms

• dao lam (“razor blade”)
• dao cạo (“razor”)